Ventilating air distributing channel-duct joint

ABSTRACT

The supporting grid (e.g., main and cross inverted tees) of a suspended ceiling also completely supports ventilation airdistributing apparatus which includes the air supply duct. This apparatus, which is completely assembled before mounting in the grid, comprises a lower air flow channel section formed of two extruded metal bars having vertical webs with hooks on the outside of the web defining ways into which the wings of a bracket project to hold the spaced bars in a channel assembly. A clip integral with the bracket hooks over the top of a grid tee and has gripper conformations to mate with a clip on the opposite side of the tee to align channels. Along the top of the web of each bar are two outwardly extending spaced arms which are used to hold the sides of a fiberglass air duct. A releasable retainer clip held in engagement with detent means on the arms by the compressed resilient fiberblass locks the duct to the channel assembly. The air from the duct discharges out through the opening between the webs. At the bottom of the webs are flanges forming supports for ceiling panels and air flow control dampers.

11 3,759,159 s stem. 18, 1973 United States Patent Rachlin et a1.

[ VENTILATING AIR DISTRIBUTING Primary ExaminerWilliam F. 'ODea CHANNEL-DUCT JOINT Assistant Examiner-Peter D. Ferguson [76] Inventors: JoelR. Rachlin, i785 Wedgewood West,'Elm Grove, Wis. 53122; Rudolph Otto Neudek, W. 271 N. 1275 Meadowbrook Rd., \Vaukesha, Wis. 53186 tion air-distributing apparatus which includes the air [22] Filed: June 12, I972 supply duct. This apparatus, which is completely as- [21] App]. No.: 262,041

sembled before mounting in the grid, comprises a lower air flow channel section formed of two extruded metal bars having vertical webs with hooks on the outside of the web defining ways into which the wings of a bracket project to hold the spaced bars in a channel assembly.

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. l0,508, Feb. ll, 1970, Pat. No.

A clip integral with the bracket hooks over the top of a grid tee and has gripper conformations to mate with a clip on the opposite side of the tee to align channels. Along the top of the web of each bar are two outwardly AM D G70 I 0....4 4 8 C 3F 1 2 8 .9 m m D m 8 n m 3 n l n 0 m M n m 8 9 a u r nu "N "U I C mm Um .l.. 218 555 [[r[ l38lDlG. f2, mo. 4

extending spaced arms which areused to hold the sides of a fiberglass air duct. A releasable retainer clip held in engagement with detent means on the arms by the [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS compressed resilientfiberblass locks the duct to the channel assembly. The air from the duct discharges out 8/1966 Palmquist 98/40 I) through the openmg between the webs At the bottom n .0 s e V O 37 66 99 ll 57 258 900 3.3 8 6 0036 333 of the webs are flanges forming supports for ceiling panels and air flow control dampers.

6 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEN 8 I975 SHEET 2 9F 3 PATENTED 3'975 3.759.159

SHEET 3 BF 3 RELATED APPLICATION This application is a division of application Ser. No. 10,508, now Pat. No. 3,673,945, dated July 4, I972 filed Feb. II, 1970. It relates particularly to the means for securing the air duct to the air distributing channels.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Various forms of structures have been proposed and used for providing ventilating air distribution in connection with suspended ceilings. The systems in commercial use suffer from a common disadvantage; namely, they must be assembled (to a greater or lesser extent) at the ceiling level. This is difficult and awkward to do. Inevitably, it results in very high labor costs. At the very minimum they require the installation and attachment of wires, rods, or other supports to the air duct and distribution apparatus while the latter is otherwise being held in place. Great care and skill is needed to properly install the structures.

Also, in known systems, installation requir'esmeasuring and cutting and otherwise fitting of materials and parts in expensive custom manner. The bill of materials for a given job requires considerable figuring to arrange for a balanced and adequate supply of materials and parts. The systems and installation procedures are geared to now obsolete scales of building trade labor costs. I

The principal object and advantage of the present invention is to provide a simplified air-distributing apparatus which may be completely assembled at a convenient working location (on a bench or even on the floor) and then merely lifted into place and deposited on the ceiling grid structure. There is no necessity for any independent suspension for the air distribution apparatus. It uses the same suspension, i.e., the tees or channels of the ceiling grid structure that is otherwise present for supporting the ceiling. The air supply ducts are mounted upon and supported by the air distributing channels that they serve.

A special object is to provide a duct-channel joint construction which permits rapid and easy assembly but locks the duct to the channel in a sealed joint with means for disconnecting if desired.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of portions of an installation utilizing one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the embodiment of FIG. 1 employed in a ceiling, wherein the airdistributing apparatus is flush with the surface of the ceiling;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an example of a 'fiberglass duct section;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of one of the brackets used for supporting the apparatus from grid tees;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the apparatus hardware;

v FIG. 6 is a side view of one of the fiberglass duct retain'ers;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the air discharge grille;

FIG. 8 is a plan view of the air extractor;

FIG. 9 is a section as viewed along the line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a partially disassembled view illustrating the manner in which the bracket of FIG. 4 is used;

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS The following disclosure is offered for public dissemination in return for the grant of a patent. Although it is detailed to ensure adequacy and aid understanding, this is not intended to prejudice that purpose of a patent which is to cover each new inventive concept therein no matter how others may later disguise it by variations in form or additions or further improvements. The claims at the end hereof are intended as the chief aid toward this purpose, as it is these that meet the requirement of pointing out the parts, improvements, or combinations in which the inventive concepts are found.

FIG. 1 illustrates the use of an embodiment with a ceiling system comprising conventional grid of longitudinal (main) tees 1 5 and cross-tees 16, with ceiling tiles 17. The tees conventionally have a bottom flange 18 on each side and a bulbous head 19. Any conventional means, such as wires (not shown), for supporting main tees 15 may be employed.

- In this embodiment-of the invention two bar members, generally 21 and 22, are employed. These bar members are formed from'extruded metal, e.g., aluminum. They are identical and one has been turned end for end with respect to the other so that one forms a left" and the other forms a right. Describing, specifically, the bar on the left in FIG. 1, the section from which the bar member is formed comprises a vertical web 23, having at the lower end thereof an inwardly extending flange 24 and an outwardly extending flange 25. A longitudinal rib forms what may be termed a finger 26 extending upwardly in spaced relation to web 23. A hooked rib forms an upper finger 27. These two ribs, equally spaced from web 23, define a partially enclosed way for receiving the wings of the mounting brackets, as hereinafter described. An inwardly extending rib forms a shelf 28. Extending upwardly from the top of web 23 is an angular arm 29. A second arm 30 extends outwardly from web 23 in spaced, parallel relation to arm 29.

Adjacent the distal edge of the exterior bottom flange 25 is a downwardly extending support member 31 having a rib 32 along the bottom thereof.

To support the bar members 21 and 22 in proper relation to each other and form the air-distributing channel, and to mount the channel on the tees 15, a pair of brackets, generally 35, are employed (as best seen in FIGS. 1, 4 and 10). Bracket 35 is formed from sheet metal and includes a plate 36 which eventually lies alongside the vertical portion of the tee. Extending outwardly at right angles from plate 36 are a pair of wings 37 and 38. These wings are of a size to be received and securely retained in the ways defined by fingers 26 and 27 of the bars. When fully inserted in the ways, the web 23 of the bar members abuts the main plate 36 of the bracket.

Extending upwardly from the main plate 36 is a clip portion in the form of a bar 39 with three grippers 40, 41, 42 integral therewith. The grippers 41 and 42 are spaced apart by gaps equal to their individual lengths and are disposed eccentrically with respect to the center line of the bracket (as it exists midway between wings 37 and 38). The positioning is such that when the two brackets are applied to opposite sides of a supporting grid tee (see FIGS. and the grippers from the two sides interdigitate so that opposite wings of the two brackets on each side of the tee are in exact alignment. The lower portion 390 of the bar 39 fits under bulbous head 19 of the tee when the bracket is mounted thereon. This, in combination with the gripper 42 extending around the'top of the head 19 and down partially over the far side, provides a secure gripping of the tee by the bracket.

A section of fiberglass ducting is used for the air supply duct. This is conventional ducting material which may be formed to the shape most convenient for the particular installation. Two folds 45 (FIG. 3) to form a triangular duct is usually the simplest. This triangular duct has a top 46 and two sides 47 and 48. The lower portions 47a and 48a of the two sidesare inserted into the two slots defined by the spaced arms 29 and 30 of the bars 21 and 22. To facilitate this, the upper portions of arms 29 are outwardly curved, as indicated at 29a. The upper portion of arm 30 has an inwardly extending taper 30a extending to a step 30b. A duct retainer, generally 49, is applied to the sides of the duct before the latter is put into place. This retainer comprises a length of sheet metal having a bottom flange 50, a side 51 formed with an outwardly projecting detent 52, in-

, wardly projecting prongs 53 and an upper release lever 54. These duct retainers 49 are applied to the edges of the duct with the prongs53 being pressed securely into the fiberglass duct material. As the duct with its retainers then is inserted between the arms 29 and 30, the resilient fiberglass material being somewhat compressed in the process, the detent 52 ultimately snaps into place behind step 30b so as to securely lock the fiberglass duct to the bar members 21 and 22, the joint being self sealing against air leakage. Inward pressure on release lever 54 will disengage detent 52 from step 30b and permit removal of the duct from the channel.

Shutters, generally 55', are employed on inner flanges 24 to serve as dampers for the regulation of the air flow. These shutters are formed of continuous lengths of sheet metal bent into a U so as to have an upper plate 56 and a lower plate 57. These plates frictionally grip the inner flanges 24. The inner flanges may be formed with grooves 240 into which the detent end 56a can seat at a variety of positions. The end 57a is bent outwardly to form a handle to facilitate the manipulation of the damper from the room below the ceiling.

Between the bar members 21 and 22 is an air extractor, generally 58 (FIGS. 8 and 9). It comprises a plate 59, the longitudinal edges of which have been bent down to form flanges 60. Along the center portion a plurality of three-sided cuts were made with the metal within the cut areas being bent down to form a series of deflectors 61 and leaving openings 62 in the metal. The function of the extractor is to turn airdownwardly when supplied for linear flow through the duct.

Along the under side is a cap or grille, generally 64,

I ,also. preferably formed by metal extrusion. Along the under side, the cap has a center recess 65, into which the upper edge of a partition may be inserted if the area being ventilated is divided into rooms. A divider 66 extends upwardly at the center line of the cap and has an arrowhead ridge 67 along the top thereof. At each side of divider 66 the cap is provided with a plurality of openings 68. Along each side are upwardly extending support flanges 69 having hoo'ks 70 (FIG. 5) along the inner sides thereof. These hooks 70 are for engaging the bulbous ridges 32 of support members 31 to hold the cap in place.

It is the common practice to position the longitudinal tees 15 on four foot centers. Accordingly, the bar members 21 and 22, the extractor 58, the duct sections 46-48, the duct retainers 49 and the shutters 55 would be cut into, and supplied in, four foot lengths (or just that amount short of four feet to allow for the thickness of the metal at each side of the center line of the tees). The caps may also be supplied in lengths exactly four feet long.

While all of the hardware for a single unit may be packaged together, assembled or unassembled, and so supplied to the job, it may be more economical to package and ship the several component parts separately.

The units will then be assembled at the job site, but this need not be done overhead; it can be done conveniently and rapidly on the floor or on a bench. Advantageously, a sheet of fiberglass ducting is scored (for bending), a duct retainer 49 applied to each long edge and bars pressed onto the ducting. The duct is then formed by brining the sides up until the bars confront each other and the end brackets 35 are inserted to hold the bar members together in the proper spaced relation. Insertion of the bracket wings into the ways is facilitated by the greater length and curved end of wing 38. Shutters are alreadyin place on their supporting flanges 24 as the bars are supplied. The assembly is then turned right side'up and the extractor 58 (if used) is put into place.

The thus assembled complete, integral unit is now ready to be positioned on the ceiling structure. It is relatively light and can be handled readily by one man. He lifts it up and deposits it at the desired location spanning a pair of grid tees. While it is resting on the tees, and working on one end at a time, he presses the clips at the tops of brackets 35 down securely over the heads of the tees. The unit is now in place, and the workman can proceed with the assembly and installation of another unit. If the job plans call for two or more lengths of duct and channel to be connected in series, the next unit is similarly placed in position in the grid in longitudinal alignment with the first unit. Exact alignment is automatically provided by the interdigitating fit of grippers 40, 41, 42 of the two associated support brackets. Following usual practice, the joint between adjacent ends of the units are taped to prevent appreciable air leakage.

The air-distributing runs may be supplied with ventilating air by longitudinal (usually called -linear" in the trade) flow through the fiberglass duct from a source connected at one end, in which case the extractors are usually employed to turn the air downwardly, or the air may be supplied to the units from a supply duct through boot connections 73. Ends of ducts may be closed by means of closures 74 conveniently cut from the fiberglass ducting material and taped into place.

When all of the units of a given row have been put into place, the cap 64, cut to the proper length, is applied to the whole row of units. If the ducting extends from wall to wall of the room, then the cap 64 would be of that length. By pushing upwardly on cap 64 the supports 69 are forced into place so that the hooks 70 engage the ridges 32 of supports 31. As is apparent in FIG. 1, the cap 64 is below the bottom of flanges 18 of the tees so that a finished appearance is achieved. Should the cap 64 only extend across a part of the room, filler plugs (not shown) may be inserted into the gaps at the exposed ends, which gaps would be below the bottom of bar members 21 and 22 and above the cap 64.

As is indicated above, caps 64 may be supplied in the same lengths as the other parts of the apparatus, in which case no cutting is necessary on the job. The continuous length of cap presents a better appearance because most, if not all, of the butt end joints may be avoided. If the air-distributing units are arranged to meet at, for example, right angles in the ceiling, the parts of the apparatus, including the caps, may be cut to form a mitre type joint.

After the system has been installed, the dampers are set for the desired air flow from each side of cap 64. The flow on each side may be adjusted individually, since the gap between head 67 and the shutter 55 on each side is individually controllable. As a matter of fact, if desired, one side may be shut off entirely by bringing the shutter on that side over against head 67.

We claim:

1. ln ventilating air distributing apparatus comprising an elongated air-distributing channel formed by two spaced bars and a duct of resilient fiberglass arranged along and opening into the channel to supply air thereto along substantially the entire length thereof, means for securing the duct to the channel comprising a pair of spaced arms extending outwardly from each bar of the channel to form a pair of grooves intowhich the respective edge portions of the duct project under compression, and a separate retainer clip arranged in each said groove between the edge portion of the duct and one of the arms forming the groove, said clip having prongs projecting therefrom into the edge portion of said duct and means for positively engaging said arm comprising stops on each said arm and said clip interengaging at surfaces which are at substantially right angles to said edge portion of said duct whereby said clip and duct are releasable from said arm by inward movement of said clip against the yielding pressure of the resilient fiberglass.

2. Structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the retainer clip comprises an elongated sheet material member having a flange extending inwardly from the bottom edge thereof against which the edge of the duct abuts.

3. Structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the groove-forming arm provided with the stop means is the outer arm of each pair and the retainer extends beyond the edge of said outer arm whereby access to the retainer is provided for disengaging it from said stop means.

4. Structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the inner arm of each pair is flared outwardly along the length thereof.

5. Structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the inner arm of each pair extends beyond the edge of the outer arm to facilitate insertion of the edge portion of the duct into the groove formed by said pair of arms.

6. ln ventilating air distributing apparatus comprising an elongated air distributing channel formed by two spaced bars and a duct of resilient fiberglass arranged along and opening into the channel to supply air thereto along substantially the entire length thereof, means for securing the duct to the channel comprising a pair of spaced arms extending outwardly from each bar of the channel to form a pair of grooves into which the respective edge portions of the duct project under compression and a separate retainer clip arranged in each said groove between the edge portion of the duct and the outer arm forming the groove, said outer one of each pair of arms being provided with a stop shoulder on the inner side thereof and the side of said clip engaging said outer arm is provided with a stop step adapted to cooperate with said stop shoulder to lock said clip in position in said groove, said clip extending beyond the edge of said outer arm whereby access to the clip is provided for disengaging it from said stop shoulder by inward movement of said clip against the yielding pressure of the resilient fiberglass, said clip comprising an elongated sheet material member having a flange extending from the bottom edge thereof against which the edge of said duct abuts. 

1. In ventilating air distributing apparatus comprising an elongated air-distributing channel formed by two spaced bars and a duct of resilient fiberglass arranged along and opening into the channel to supply air thereto along substantially the entire length thereof, means for securing the duct to the channel comprising a pair of spaced arms extending outwardly from each bar of the channel to form a pair of grooves into which the respective edge portions of the duct project under compression, and a separate retainer clip arranged in each said groove between the edge portion of the duct and one of the arms forming the groove, said clip having prongs projecting therefrom into the edge portion of said duct and means for positively engaging said arm comprising stops on each said arm and said clip interengaging at surfaces which are at substantially right angles to said edge portion of said duct whereby said clip and duct are releasable from said arm by inward movement of said clip against the yielding pressure of the resilient fiberglass.
 2. Structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the retainer clip comprises an elongated sheet material member having a flange extending inwardly from the bottom edge thereof against which the edge of the duct abuts.
 3. Structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the groove-forming arm provided with the stop means is the outer arm of each pair and the retainer extends beyond the edge of said outer arm whereby access to the retainer is provided for disengaging it from said stop means.
 4. Structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the inner arm of each pair is flared outwardly along the length thereof.
 5. Structure in accordance with claim 1 wherein the inner arm of each pair extends beyond the edge of the outer arm to facilitate insertion of the edge portion of the duct into the groove formed by said pair of arms.
 6. In ventilating air distributing apparatus comprising an elongated air distributing channel formed by two spaced bars and a duct of resilient fiberglass arranged along and opening into the channel to supply air thereto along substantially the entire length thereof, means for securing the duct to the channel comprising a pair of spaced arms extending outwardly from each bar of the channel to form a pair of grooves into which the respective edge portions of the duct project under compression and a separate retainer clip arranged in each said groove between the edge portion of the duct and the outer arm forming the groove, said outer one of each pair of arms being provided with a stop shoulder on the inner side thereof and the side of said clip engaging said outer arm is provided with a stop step adapted to cooperate with said stop shoulder to lock said clip in position in said groove, said clip extending beyond the edge of said outer arm whereby access to the clip is provided for disengaging it from said stop shoulder by inward movement of said clip against the yielding pressure of the resilient fiberglass, said clip comprising an elongated sheet material member having a flange extending from the bottom edge thereof against which the edge of said duct abuts. 